We can hardly contain our excitement for the upcoming 15 Open age group at the AAU Girls National Championships in Orlando. The 15U ages are set to compete from June 18-21 and what an Open field it is! There are the typical clubs we see attending AAUs but there is one major change this season and it’s gigantic! Skyline 15 Royal is scheduled to be here and that’s a rarity. It just so happens that Skyline is the No. 1 ranked team in vballrecruiter.com’s Top 50 National Rankings.

Skyline tops a loaded field that features 15 teams from our Top 50, including No. 2 Mintonette Sports m.51 and No. 3 Boiler Jrs 15 Gold, which is the defending 14 Open champion and looking to make it back-to-back. Legacy 15-1 Adidas, at No. 8, and AP 15 Adidas, at No. 11, are also among the highly-ranked teams set to compete for gold. Below, we take a look at 15 Open and make our call for the gold medalist.

AAU 15 OPEN

Number of Teams: 61

vballrecruiter.com National Rankings (15):

1. Skyline 15 Royal (TX)
2. Mintonette Sports m.51 (OH)
3. Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (IN)
8. Legacy 15-1 Adidas (MI)
11. AP 15 Adidas (TX)
19. Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal (FL)
21. GP 15 Rox (FL)
25. Tri-State Elite 15 Blue (OH)
26. Far Out 15 Black (MI)
28. WPVC 15 Armour Black (FL)
30. Jupiter Elite 15 Elite (FL)
33. Top Select 15 Elite (FL)
36. A5 15 Bob (GA)
41. High Tide 15 Elite (FL)
42. Northern Lights 15-1 (MN)

5-Star Athletes to Know:

Henley Anderson OH AP 15 Adidas
Rayna Christianson S/RS Northern Lights 15-1
Gabi Divita OH Legacy 15-1 Adidas
Kayla Nwabueze MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas
Layla Austin OH Skyline 15 Royal
Keoni Williams MB Skyline 15 Royal
Caroline Ward RS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold (2027)

4-Star Athletes to Know:

Gigi Artiles OH Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal
Mia Gold OH Tribe 15 Elite Cardinal
Sienna Fry RS Summit 15 Blue
Madeline Kraft L/DS Northern Lights 15-1
Sofia Guerrero-Wilson MB A5 15 Bob
Kalyssa Taggart S/RS A5 15 Bob
Ellie Hepler L/DS Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
Madison Miles OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
Reese Resmer MB Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
Cali Foster OH Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
Lexi Shondell S Boiler Jrs 15 Gold
Eva Swenson S MN Select 15-1
Meredith Martin L/DS Legacy 15-1 Adidas
Ella Andrews MB Legacy 15-1 Adidas
Layla Hoying OH Mintonette Sports m.51
Mallory Matheny S Mintonette Sports m.51
Emma Cugino L/DS Mintoentte Sports m.51

Prediction: Based on the way things have gone so far this season, Skyline is a heavy favorite to capture the gold medal. The club finished first at both Triple Crown and the Red Rock Rave qualifier; took second at Show Me; and fifth at Lone Star. The field isn’t as deep as the one we’ll see in Chicago and that’s a reason why Skyline is such a favorite. Yet, Mintonette, Boiler Jrs and Legacy are no slouches and won’t go away easily. Tribe and GP are teams to watch too, as both are capable of producing upsets and surprising. Beyond that, the other ranked teams are used to going against high-level opponents. Tri-State plays a competitive schedule. WPVC, Jupiter Elite, Top Select, A5, High Tide and Northern Lights are all Open-level competitors throughout the season. Let’s get to the picks. Teams are playing to get into a 12-team gold bracket on the final day. Our pick for the final four are Legacy, Skyline, Tribe and Mintonette. The choice is Legacy surprising Skyline in the final for the gold.